Just been looking at www.lifeinourvan.com great ideas for places in Croatia!

Split is the second largest city and the old town is a UNESCO heritage site. You can fly direct from London. It's not particularly a party place, but it's a city to visit and transit through rather than stay in for more than a weekend. It's very nice.

Hvar is not "just" a party place. Hvar town is a party place, but the rest of the island (30 miles long) is very peaceful. Stari Grad is the ancient town on the island and another UNESCO site. Look at the google images, it's amazing.

You can travel by sea plane from Split to Jelsa in Hvar which is great fun. Don't let the party image put you off Hvar; the town is more like St Tropez than Magaluf, and the whole island is stunning.

Dubrovnik (also direct flights) and Trogir (near Split) also nice. As are other islands such as Brac.

Be warned though - Croatia is oddly expensive (well the tourist bits are) so be prepared for that. Also it's very hot in the summer (can be 35 degrees) without great air conditioning I often find. It's a great place though.

We've been a few times to Zadar - absolutely love the old city and its sea organ
Stayed in small villages around, one of them was for sure Bibinje, the others don't really remember the names, we just searched for accommodation near zadar on booking.com

we were usually going to the queeens beach, my husband loves the mud baths there too, here's some info on that, it's not far from zadar
http://www.zadar.hr/the-queens-beach/

we visited Plitvica lakes and Krka park, both are amazing and Zadar was a good base for exploring those

Split was nice but very very busy
Enjoy your vacation!

Hi there, my name is Jake and I work for the Flight Centre that is located on Clapham's Northcote Road

I love this thread as Croatia has been SUCH a popular destination for us recently! I would really recommend Dubrovnik myself, it has the culture of beautifully crafted long streets, and also the amazing sea views and beaches. And is actually where they film most of the TV series Game of Thrones, so really has something for everyone! I hope this helps!

The travel section of the Sunday Times (3 days ago) had an article about Croatia which might be helpful-

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/trav ... -btssjtv38

Lopud is lovely. Close to Dubrovnik. Wonderful restaurants and definitely not a party island! Not sure about the self-catering options as we stayed in the hotel but worth checking out.

Highly recommend Makarska. Nearly half way between Dubrovnik and Split, great beach and restaurants. Lots of self-catering options.

We are thinking of going to Croatia this summer - family of 5 with 2 teenagers. My husband doesn't fancy the "party" islands of Hvar and Split. Can anyone recommend good locations / villas for a self catering holiday near the beach and local restaurants ? Thanks